Happy Selection Sunday everyone! Here is my final bracket, with a couple different scenarios in case St. Bonnie's wins and the result of the Big Ten Championship game today, which will determine the last No.1 seed. If St. Bonnies wins (they are up at halftime), then Iona will drop out and they will move into a 13 seed and bump NEW MEXICO STATE to a 12 and drop N.C. State into a last four in scenario.

Taking UCF out of my bracket tonight because of what is happening right now against Memphis, but not including the Xavier/St. Louis game because it's tight and could go either way. All other games are being counted from tonight.

As always is based on if the tournament started today.1s- Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, Duke

We're only a week before some of the mid-major tournaments start up which can only mean one thing... MARCH IS ALMOST HERE!! Some teams are rolling full steam ahead like Kansas State and Wichita State and other teams are limping to the end. Only two and a half weeks now and we'll have our OFFICIAL bracket to tear into and I for one cannot wait!

As always, this bracket is based on if the tournament started today, not who I predict will be selected in six weeks. Conference winners will be the team in first place right now, with tie breakers being highest rated RPI between the tied teams.

American East-1 Conference champ- Stony Brook at large-none bubble-none analysis- Stony Brook has a one game lead with one game to go thanks to Vermont inexplicably giving Binghamton its first win of the season last night. Look for whoever wins this league to hook up with one of the 1-seeds.

ACC- 5 Conference Champ- North Carolina at large-Duke, Florida State, Virginia bubble- Miami (in), NC State analysis- N.C. State's 20 points collapse at Duke carried into their next game at home against Florida State. They were overmatched against North Carolina two nights ago, and now they finish up with two of their final three on the road to close out conference play, including one against fellow bubble team Miami. There best win is a neutral site win over Texas, although they have played a very good schedule. finishing 2-1 in the regular season and one win in the ACC tourney should get them in. Duke, Florida State and UNC are all just a half game of each other, and Duke and FSU meet tonight in Tallahassee in a game that could eliminate one of them from ACC title contention.

Atlantic Sun-1 Conference champ-Belmont at large-none bubble-none analysis- Belmont is the class of this conference, but second place Mercer will get the Bruins on their home floor in the final regular season game between these two that could set the tone for the conference tournament. Belmont needs only to beat winless-in-conference Kennesaw State tonight to clinch the Atlantic Sun Title outright.

Atlantic 10-3 Conference Champ-Temple at large-Saint Louis bubble- Xavier (in), Massachusetts, Dayton, St. Josephs, LaSalle analysis-Like every year it seems, The A-10 will come down to the final week to determine not just a champion of the league, but teams desperately seeking wins to add to their NCAA hopeful resume. Xavier won a much needed game saturday at home against Dayton in overtime, but followed that up with a loss at UMASS two nights ago to put them back in the "last four in" category. It's become a two horse race for the regular season title now, with Temple holding the tie breaker in the conference tournament with a 72-67 road win the only time these two teams met.

Big East- 8 Conference Champ-Syracuse at large- Marquette, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Louisville, West Virginia bubble- Seton Hall (in), UCONN (in), South Florida, Cincinnati analysis- What a mess this conference has become over the past few weeks. UCONN's computer numbers are still off the charts for a team that is fading fast, so I dont really think they're in as much trouble as people are saying at this point, although the Shabazz shot Monday night sure helped. As for South Florida, I dont think they are as close are people are saying either. Anyone wanna tell me their most impressive win??? is it a one point home win against Seton Hall?? yes they have some opportunities coming up, but I think they need to get that road win against at Louisville to really be considered, because the committee doesnt care how good your conference record is if you're just beating up on DePaul and St. John's and Providence, just ask Cincinnati or Alabama.

Big Sky-1 conference champ-Weber State at large-none bubble- none analysis-Weber State holds a half game lead over Montana, but the two teams will play each other next tuesday in a game that will probably decide regular season champ. A name for you to remember from Weber State is Damian Lillard, the second leading scorer in the nation this year. He is going to be a matchup nightmare for any team come tournament time, and I hope we get the pleasure of seeing this guy play in the NCAA tournament and not the NIT.

Big South-1 conference champ-UNC Asheville at large-none bubble-none analysis- Asheville finishes up the regular season with two home games they should win, althought regardless if they do or not they have already clinched the Big South title and the top seed in the conference tournament.

Big Ten- 6 Conference Champ- Michigan State at large-Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue bubble-Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois analysis- WOW, more importantly as to what is going on with Illinois is why is Bruce Weber still on their sideline. It's obvious to me this team has quit on him, and yet they still have a chance to save this season. The Fighting Illini are too talented to be THIS bad arent they?? as for the rest of the league, Michigan State is playing like one of the top few teams in the country, and although I wasn't ready to give them a 1-seed quite yet, I am now after the loss by Missouri two nights ago. Michigan also picked up a big road win two nights ago in overtime against Northwestern to stay in the title hunt, and they are moving up the seed board in a hurry. Indiana is still having trouble on the road, getting hammered by Iowa Sunday night, but they finish the regular season with three of their final four games at home, including a big time matchup against Michigan State next Tuesday.

Big 12- 6 conference champ-Kansas at large-Missouri, Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, bubble-Texas (in) analysis- In two games, Kansas State went from a team on the bubble to a team on the top half of the bracket. Not bad for a four day stretch. Kansas now has the inside track to ANOTHER Big 12 title, with a win this Saturday against the Tigers at Phog Allen they will have a two game lead with two games to play.

Big West-1 Conference champ-Long Beach State at large-none bubble-none analysis- Long Beach State lost a heart breaker late saturday night at Creighton, but that shouldn't deter this team from reaching the NCAA's this year. After playing the No.1 ranked OOC schedule in the country, this team has blasted its conference competition and should represent the Big West well in the NCAA tournament.

CAA-1 Conference champ- Drexel at large-none bubble- VCU, George Mason analysis- The top 4 teams in the CAA all won their bracketbuster matchup over the weekend, including Drexel, who has now won 15 games in a row leading up to its final two regular season games of the season. If they win those two games and advance to the conference tournament championship and lose, I truly believe they will earn an at-large berth and give the CAA two bids once again this season.

Conference USA-3 Conference Champ-Southern Miss at large-Memphis bubble-UCF (in) analysis- Southern Miss and UCF both lost last night to lesser competition, and now they both need to play well from here on out, including the C-USA tournament. this league has the potential for three bids, but UCF can't afford another loss the rest of the way.

Horizon-1 conference champ-Valparaiso at large-none bubble-none analysis- Look out 'cause here comes Butler. The Bulldogs had struggled all season to score points, but now have ripped off five wins in a row and are in second place in the Horizon. If Butler can hang on to that second seed and get a double bye into the Semifinals of the Horizon conference tournament, I think they'll take the championship once again and punch their ticket into another NCAA tournament.

Ivy-1 conference champ-Harvard at large-none bubble-none analysis- Every bubble team in america will be rooting for Harvard to win the Ivy league, because they are in the tournament regardless. Second place Penn will travel to Harvard this Saturday, and if Harvard can come out on top that will give them a two game lead in the league with just three games left.

MAAC-1 conference champ- Iona at large-none bubble-none analysis- Iona may not play much defense, but boy are they a fun team to watch. They can put up points against anyone, and if they draw a team that struggles to score, they could really pose a challenge in their first game of the NCAA tournament.

MAC-1 conference champ-Akron at large-none bubble-none analysis- This is going to be a tough conference tournament to call. Akron has been solid all during conference play, but teams like Kent State and Ohio really show some potential.

MEAC-1 conference champ-Savannah State at large-none bubble-none

Missouri Valley-2 conference champ-Wichita State at large- Creighton bubble-none analysis- Wichita State is playing at an unbelievable level right now, and if they can continue this stretch, they could make it to the second weekend and then some. They have great guard play, they have a seven footer, and their playing with as much confidence as anyone in the country right now. Creighton can score points with the best of them, but higher seeded teams that don't play alot of defense usually get upset early, and I think that may happen with Creighton this year.

Mountain West-4 conference champ-New Mexico at large-UNLV, San Diego State bubble-Colorado State (in) analysis- I had just about given up hope for Colorado State after that gut-wrenching last second loss at Boise State, but they picked up a big time resume win last night at home against New Mexico. They aren't out of the woods yet though, and will need to beat either San Diego State on the road or at home against UNLV to secure their bid. San Diego State stopped their recent slide with a hard-fought overtime victory against Wyoming, although they were down double digits in the first half at one point.

Northeast-1 conference champ- Long Island at large-none bubble-Wagner analysis- Wagner has an RPI in the 70's and a record of 23-4 so they are a team to keep an eye on, but i'm afraid they just don't have the resume for an at large berth. A Northeast tournament championship game between Long Island and Wagner would be highly entertaining.

Ohio Valley-1 conference champ-Murray State at large-none bubble-none analysis- Murray State has played lights out since their loss to Tennesse State, and look like a top 15 team in the country. Isaiah Canaan is one of the better guards in the country, forget about just the mid-majors, and he can lead this team into the second weekend, at least.

Pac-12- 2 conference champ-Cal at large-none bubble-Washington (in), Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Stanford analysis- Washington (51) and Oregon (53) have the highest RPI of all the Pac-12 bubble schools, so it's conceivable this conference could get multiple bids the way the rest of the power conference bubble teams have been struggling lately. If Oregon could win its final three games (at Oregon State, Colorado, Utah) they may be able to get the second bid for the PAC-12. Same goes for Washington, who finishes the season with three straight road games.

Patriot-1 conference champ-Bucknell at large-none bubble-none

SEC-6 conference champ-Kentucky at large-Florida, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State bubble-Alabama (in), LSU (in), Arkansas analysis- Mississippi State needs to right their ship fast, and with two straight road games coming up, that could be a problem. Kentucky is the class of this conference, and may be the class of the entire college basketball world, they just don't get rattled and have playmakers on offense and defense at every position. They don't have a weakness and can play any style; teams have to play their best against Kentucky to have a chance, and even that isn't good enough on most nights.

Southern-1 conference champ-Davidson at large-none bubble-none at large- Davidson could have really helped out their seeding possibilities on Saturday, but they got dump-trucked by Wichita State in the second half of that game and had no answer when the Shockers started to pull away. Regardless, Davidson is a solid club who does have a win against Kansas on their belt. They'll be a tough out come tourney time.

Southland-1 conference champ-Texas Arlingtonat large-nonebubble-noneanalysis- Texas Arlington has gone unbeaten in conference play, and they may be able to avoid a 16 seed if they can win the rest of their games. it will be close, but it's possible.

Sun Belt-1conference champ-Mid Tennessee Stateat large-nonebubble-noneanalysis- Mid Tennessee is another team that all bubble schools should be rooting for, because the further embarassing this bubble gets, the more likely that Mid Tennessee gets an at large should it lose in the conference tournament.

WCC- 3conference champ-St. Mary'sat large-Gonzagabubble- BYU (in), Loyola Marymountanalysis- Huge game tonight in the WCC as Gonzaga hosts BYU. If the Cougars can pick up the road win tonight they will be in prime position for an at large bid. Even if they don't win tonight, a victory over Portand and advancing the the semifinals of the WCC tourney should be good enough to get a bid. St. Mary's is in a bit of a funk right now and need to snap out of it. Dellavadova has been banged up a little bit and they are still withouth Stephen Holt, their third leading scorer. they finish with two road games to close out the regular season.

WAC- 1conference champ- Nevadaat large-nonebubble-New Mexico Stateanalysis- Nevada had a chance on national television to pick up a nice road win against Iona Saturday but were unable to capitalize. Nevada does have a win against Washington on its resume, but not enough to warrant at-large consideration. New Mexico is coming on strong, blasting Drake in the bracketbuster by 16 points, but despite posting a win over New Mexico early in the year, will probably have to win the conference tournament to get into the NCAA tournament.

Another edition of my bracket, and all sorts of things have happened. UCONN, West Virginia, Pitt and Seton Hall are all struggling right now in the Big East, and it's opening up other opportunities for some other teams across the country. Kansas State and Texas look to be headed in opposite directions, and the Wildcats next three games (vs. Kansas, at Baylor, at Missouri) could seal their fate one way or the other. The ACC is making a strong case to get five and possibly even six teams in the tournament this year, when at the beginning of conference play it looked more like three would be the more likely scenario. The top seeds have separated themselves from the pack a little bit here, with Michigan State joining the party and Baylor leaving. One thing that hasn't changed is that the Pac-12 is still terrible, and unless California doesnt win their conference tournament, they'll only have one team representing that conference.

As for the mid-majors, bracketbuster weekend is coming up in five days and for some teams it's the last time to make a real impressioin on the selection committee. teams like Nevada, VCU, Long Beach State and Oral Roberts have an opportunity to really open some eyes this weekend with big wins and improve their at-large chances.

As always, this bracket is based on if the tournament started today, not who I think will be selected four weeks from now. Conference winners with the team team in first place right now, with tie breakers being RPI between the tied teams.